half a day's notice!

[EbwyIsUpTheDuff]

A friend texted to say that the school had sent her a text (I don't get them, which is frustrating since I've opted IN for them) to say the children need to wear "something christmassy" tomorrow, I.E. a christmas jumper or similar.

It's another fundraiser.

half a day's notice. I can't get into town at short notice like that, most parents need notice. and I'd resent paying out £s for a christmas jumper for my child to wear ONCE in order to donate 50p to charity.

My poor friend has to find christmas clothing for 4 kids!

My son and I don't even celebrate christmas.

It's not like I can just pop out and get a pagan festival jumper for him to wear to not feel utterly excluded by this. So instead of wrapping presents and tidying the room ready for solstice this weekend, I'm now going to spend the little bit of energy I have on tacking some greenery to a jumper for him, because he'll be disappointed if I don't.

WIBU if I make him a Holly King head dress and send him in with that on?
WIBU to email about their policy of inclusion and the lack of notice?

I reckon you could have easily made something in the time you have spent here complaining Hope you get sorted!

Sorry but yabu, stick a bit if tinsel on any old top, job done

YANBU but would you be giving the OP such a hard time if she said she was Jewish and therefore didn't celebrate Christmas?

I still remember the trauma of having to get my mum to buy a bauble for some reason or other. My best friend's mum God love her hung it on their tree every year thereafter and it was my bauble

My friend got 24 hours notice to dress her son as "a French child".

yes, if she's living in this [Christian] country and her son attends a non-Jewish state school, and if she's concerned that he is dressed the same as the others. Christmas can hardly come as a surprise and schools doing christmassy things involving a bit of dressing up ditto.

No-one ever converted because they stuck a bit of tinsel on their top.

YABU, the school are probably just trying to do fun things in the last few days of term. Most children have something Xmassy, socks or jumpers etc anyway. If they don't, it takes fifteen minutes max to cut out a christmas hat and stick some shiny bits on it. If it was a full blown nativity costume I could see the point in moaning buts it's an easy one.

FFS, I'm not complaining that they are doing fun things, not complaining about them doing christmassy things, at all.

you are also assuming I have things I could make said christmassy things from (our stocks are low on craft things at the moment, he's done a lot of making things lately) and have tinsel etc!

no hobbycraft nearby. I am unable to get to anywhere to buy stuff today.

I am starting to wonder if some of you have even read what I had to say or if you've just jumped on the fact that we're not christian and disregarded the rest!

I'm complaining that half a day's notice is not enough no matter what the event is.

If I was complaining that half a day's notice wasn't enough for dressing in pink or blue or whatever then you'd be fine, it's just because it's christmas you seem to have a bee in your bonnet about it. (we had a week's notice about dressing in pink, that was fine)

since I just collected him from school feeling poorly it may well be academic anyway in my case, but not for all the other families at the school moaning at the lack of notice at pick-up. And ALL of them celebrate Christmas.

then they are moaning about nothing, because they will have something in the house to use to Christmasify a jumper/child. Your complaint is actually far more valid!

But you've had some good suggestions on here as to how your DS can dress up and join in. But I would absolute contact the school if they make a habit of giving very little notice.

I'll manage something for him (assuming he's well enough to go in by then so won't start cutting or sewing until tomorrow morning), it's just really irritating that there was no notice. I don't think many of them havethe sort of thought pattern that will suggest making something, they tend to just buy things here for these events. I predict local tesco will sell out of festive jumpers tonight.

I'm very surprised the school hasn't made it clear that it doesn't need to be a bought-as Christmas jumper - DD's teacher was telling everyone the day before hers that any top with some tinsel or whatever would be fine.

They really don't seem to have thought it through at all.

no, they haven't. there's a specific person in charge of these things, the poor man was surrounded on Friday by people demanding to know why there wasn't a jumper day at that school, so this is obviously a quick response to that with no thought being put in at all.

strangely 2 of the people complaining about it very loudly today were among the 8 or so surrounding him on Friday!

Op I had a text the day before my DS was to wear something 'Christmassy' I missed the text as it was sent to my old phone so his teacher gave him a Christmas hat to wear and he was fine with that.

they don't do that at this school, I loaned a spare cape to one very upset little child on "hero day" as her family hadn't managed to find a costume with 3 days notice :( the school didn't have anything, same for world book day... they just don't do it.

Very simple option, cut stars from a cereal box, cover in tinfoil, stitch on jumper. Although personally I think the Holly King would be AWESOME! Holly is linked with Christmas in many ways too.

As for the 'just buy it from Disney' people.... Poor narrow minded them.

he's unwell... fast asleep though he did wake up to beg me to let him go to school tomorrow because "I'm not poorly, I'm ok!" (with a high temperature, huge rings around his eyes, and extremely pale face)... probably won't be going at all. I'll prepare as though he is going but it doesn't seem likely

Short notice is a killer. I once made a dinosaur costume after finding out about it at school pick up, ready for assembly the next morning. (And we had Rainbows and Brownies that night) and, much like you, I had a handful of parents debating why I'd made it, not bought it. I hope ds is all better soon!
(For super quick christmassing from my craft box i sewed large buttons like baubles and ribbons as strings onto plain hoodies, no artistic talent required on my part thankfully!)

Is this the time to mention my "Charles I in less than 5 minutes" triumph?

(Disclaimer- it was not dd's school's fault- it was most definitely hers!)

That is particularly impressive Hakluyt

One annoying aspect of this is the attitude that it displays to parents, and mothers in particular: despite the fact that most schools are full of working women, some simply seem to be unable to take on board the fact that both parents may well work full time. When my children were at primary school, it used to annoy me severely to come home latish after a hard day's work and after the shops had closed, only to discover that I was expected to magic up by the following day some sort of fancy costume, materials for cooking, swimming things because they'd just decided to start swimming, etc etc. I had many a polite rant and only finally educated them when I went on the Board of Governors.

I'm also really interested in how you celebrate solstice but I don't know how to pm on here. Is it info you would be willing to post. Maybe others would be interested as well.

yeah, it annoys me they just assume spare adults are around with nothing better to do than arrange costumes at short notice.

I don't really want to post about solstice in here, it's not what the complaining was about!

hak
I raise you 5min zombie

Why did you mention it, then?

Hmmm. Generic zombie vs. specific king. I reckon I win!